Issue #12

Welcome to The Prestonian, a fortnightly newsletter that brings you all the ins and outs of Preston and it's local surroundings.

We are a group of creatives who want to share our love and passion for the northern suburbs. We'll be covering a whole host of topics ranging from local news to food reviews to local sports. Everything Preston, always.

Meet our editor

Sezer is a creative writing wiz who specialises in putting words onto a page. He moved to Preston at the start of the year and fell in love with the suburb. You can see him walking his dog, Ramsay, up and down High Street.

He works as the social media marketing manager for Digital Basis, a Preston-based digital agency that has thrown its support behind The Prestonian.

What are we covering in this issue?

This week we chatted to a couple of election candidates, showcase a new business offering a great deal for Prestonian readers, and a familiar face returns to Preston.

Election Time

The November State Election is next weekend, and we wanted to reach out to our local candidates across all parties to see if we could find out a little more about the person and the goals of their campaign.

Patchouli Paterson - Greens

Meet Patchouli 'Patch' Paterson, the Greens candidate for Preston and Reservoir. Patch is a local of the northern suburbs. She rents a home in Reservoir with her partner and younger brother. Outside of politics, Patch works in education and community development. She loves her sport, playing footy for the Preston Bullants and cricket (she's a wicketkeeper) over the summer in the Northern Metro Comp. Patch loves everything the northern suburbs has to offer, like walks around all the parks and creeks, and always stops off for a coffee at one of the many local cafes in the area.

We sat down with Patchouli to discuss a few things and find out more about her.

The first thing we discussed was Patchouli's political journey so far. She grew up in a family that took politics very seriously, so she's always been exposed to politics from a young age. Once Patch got to uni, she wanted to become more active and found that Richard Di Natale was based in Geelong, so she went and put her hand up to volunteer and from there, the rest is history.

Patch knows how hard it can be dealing with the increased cost of living while wages stay the same. Parliament needs more regular people who have lived those experiences and are in touch with their local communities.

As the representative in parliament for Preston and Reservoir, Patch will:

• Fight for the Preston Market by pushing for legal protections (a section 173 agreement) that ensures the market will remain open air with traders and heritage protected in its current location.

• Protect the local creeks, lakes and parks, and fight to turn Edwards Lake into a sanctuary.

• Address the increasing cost of living by lowering energy bills through a publicly-owned energy retailer.

• Work tirelessly for safe and secure housing for all.

• Work for fair investment in local schools so that quality education is available for all children no matter where they live.

• Respect the vital work of local artists and those who work in the creative industries.

• Improve road safety across Preston and Reservoir at intersections like the Bouldrewood and Broadway roundabouts.

• Speed up investments into female friendly change rooms, modern facilities for sports clubs and redevelop the Reservoir Leisure Centre into a health and wellbeing hub.

• Ensuring that communities are connected through activating strip shopping and supporting businesses to create jobs.

• Push for better access to health care.

Because our area has traditionally been a safe Labor seat, we have missed out on improvements from local parliament when compared to other areas. Patch understands this and is pushing for real change to the Preston and Reservoir areas.

If you've been looking for a candidate local to the area they're running in and understands what the community wants, Patchouli Paterson might be the candidate for you.

Early voting is open from the 14th of November, with election day falling on Saturday the 26th of November.

Instagram: @patch4preston

Nathan Lambert - Labor

Meet Nathan Lambert, Labor's candidate for Preston.

Nathan comes from a computer science and creative arts background, having worked across several roles in his early days before finding his niche in the public service sector. The past few years have seen Nathan work on policy development in the forestry, energy and climate change portfolios.

Having moved to Preston with his partner, Noah, and their two daughters. Since moving to Preston, Nathan has firmly ensconced himself in the suburb by checking out the local eats like Bambams in Reservoir, walking the local creeks and parks, and connecting with people who have lived here for years.

Nathan's political journey for Labor has seen him work in a variety of roles across the party. He decided to put his hand up to represent the Labor party for the seat here in Preston. After a vote involing the national executive (which is made up of 50,000 members), Nathan won the right to represent Labor here in Preston.

As the representative for parliament in Preston, Nathan will continue the work that labor does with the pillars of their policies including:

• Decarbonisation: Pushes towards more renewable energy due to climate change, with emissions down by 40% under the Labor government.

• Jobs: Labor are putting power back in the hands of Victorians with a government-owned energy company and creating thousands of jobs in renewables. It’s why they introduced Free TAFE and why they're making nursing free - so Victorians can get the skills they need, for the job they want.

• Transport: Labor are building the big transport infrastructure projects the state needs so Victorians can get home sooner and safer. With 67 dangerous and congested level crossings already having been removed, and more to follow. Building the Metro Tunnel, the Suburban Rail Loop, and the North East Link.

• Health: Labor have built and upgraded hospitals across the state, and hired more than 26,000 extra healthcare workers. Australia’s first free public fertility service to make it easier for thousands of Victorians to start a family of their own. Introducing Paramedic Practitioners to provide urgent care to Victorians who need it.

• Education: Labor are making making kinder free, creating Free Tafe, building 100 new schools and upgrading even more across the state, and building 50 new childcare centres in the suburbs that need them most.

• Inclusion: Using schools to help increase inclusion and a constant eye on helping to reduce the amount marginalised people across the state.

If you've been a long-time supporter of Labor or looking to make the switch to them in the Preston area, then Nathan Lambert might be the candidate for you.

Early voting is open from the 14th of November, with election day falling on Saturday the 26th of November.

Instagram: @nathan.lambert.insta

Note: Due to the time constraints of the candidates in the lead-up to the election, Patchouli and Nathan were the two we had the chance to speak with. Other candidates were contacted but were unable to queue up a time.

Parslow Collective

Paige specialises in family photography either in your home or outdoors on location.

For Paige, her philosophy is connecting with likeminded people and exploring the beauty this world has to offer.

In her business, she always aspires to go above and beyond. From the initial meeting to your shoot and the entire experience, every element has her client’s wildest dreams and expectations at heart.

Paige's photography style is documentary with an editorial eye, capturing moments as they naturally unfold. Rather than posing, she'll encourage and guide you to engage with your family. A kiss, a joke, walking hand-in-hand, playing with their favourite toy - whatever it may be, the genuine connection and love is the magic that shines in your photographs.

Her commitment to you is delivering an experience of only the highest quality, in which you’re comfortable from day one, leaving you with exceptional gallery of images you will treasure and marvel at forever.

Paige is offering all The Prestonian readers a 25% discount on photoshoots, just mention “The Prestonian” when booking.

All shoots receive an exclusive online gallery of digital files. In addition, you can purchase prints, zines and even design your own personalised greeting cards straight from your gallery! Perfect and simple options for Christmas gifting.

Shoots range from $395 to $995.

If you would like to work with Paige, she'd love to hear from you. Reach out to her on her socials or her website for a price list and get talking about your family shoot.

Instagram: @parslowcollectivefamily | Website: www.parslowcollective.com

Ramsay Returns to Preston

This is more of a personal update rather than a community update. Ramsay, the Prestonian office dog has returned from his few months up on the Gold Coast.

If you walk past our High St office you'll catch a glimpse of him sitting in front of the glass door, feel free to give him a wave (he appreciates the attention). You'll see him at lunchtime going for a walk around parts of Preston. Stop him for a quick pat and chat if you see us.

Don't be surprised if you start to see him creep into our social media content as well!

Spread the Word

The future of The Prestonian is bright, and we want to showcase more and more of the Northern Suburbs. Bringing increased exposure to small businesses in the area, and creating a sense of community by keeping everyone in the know.

If you're a business owner, a local resident or a lover of Melbourne's Northern suburbs and you have something you'd like to share, then DM us on Instagram @theprestonian or reply to this email to get in touch.

Tell your friends, tell your family, tell everyone you know, we want to bring the beauty of the Northern Suburbs to as many people as we can.